The Privileged Planet
Questions and Quotes
Why does it matter if the Earth was created by intelligent design or came into existence by chance?
For eighteen hundred years, it was taught and believed that the Earth was the center of our universe and sat motionless in the heavens with the sun, stars and planets revolving around it until in 1543 when Nicholas Copernicus put forth the idea (not at all well received by the Church!) that rather than being stationary, the Earth and planets were, in fact, revolving around the sun. Four hundred years later this discovery had evolved into what has become known as the Copernican Principle: The Earth occupies no preferred place in the universe.
By the twentieth century, the Copernican Principle had been further re-interpreted into what has become known as the Principle of Mediocrity which says that our world holds no special place in the universe and came into existence by chance. In the 1970s and 80s, the late astronomer Carl Sagan declared, "Because of the reflection of sunlight, the Earth seems to be sitting in a beam of light, as if there some special significance to this small world, but it’s just an accident of geometry and optics. Look again at that dot; that’s here, that’s home; that’s us. Our posturing, our imagined self-importance; the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark."
Recently, some scientists have begun to believe that the requirements for a planet to sustain complex life forms are so demanding and exact that it is mathematically impossible for all these elements to have come together by chance.
Albert Einstein said, "I have a deep faith that the principles of the universe will be both beautiful and simple." Paul Davies says, "Most scientists take it for granted that the world is both ordered and intelligible…" If the origin of Earth was by chance, would it be both ordered and intelligible? Guillermo Gonzalez says, "Discoverability of the universe is something that we didn’t need for our existence; it’s something additional. It seems then that whatever the source of the universe is, it intended that it contain observers who can discover." Nicholaus Copernicus, in his quest to explain our solar system, sought to understand "the mechanism of the universe wrought for us by a supremely good and orderly Creator…the system the best and most orderly artist of all framed for our sake." Suggested Videos/DVDs1. The position of the Earth in the Milky Way. We’re in the right spot to live (between two spiral arms, away from the galactic center, but not too close to the edge) and we’re in the best spot to view the rest of the galaxy (our position gives an edge-on view of the Milky Way, unobstructed by star and gas clusters).
2. The composition of our atmosphere. Our atmosphere sustains complex life and is transparent. That transparency gives us a clear viewing platform from which to make scientific discoveries.
3. The size and distance relationship between our sun and moon. Our sun is the right size and stability to sustain life. The size of our moon regulates Earth’s rotation and the ocean tides to sustain life. At the same time, the perfect 1:400 size-to-distance relationship between our sun and moon allow perfect solar eclipses to take place, enabling us to confirm Einstein’s theory of general relativity and to discover the flash spectrum revealing the inner workings and composition of stars (like our sun).
Unlocking the Mystery of Life (Illustra Media)
Icons of Evolution (Cold Water Media)
Suggested ReadingsA Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer.
Darwin on Trial by Phillip Johnson.
The Design Revolution by William Dembski, PhD, foreword by Chuck Colson.
The Privileged Planet by Jay Richards and Guillermo Gonzalez
Doubts about Darwin: A History of Intelligent Design by Tom Woodward, PhD.
The Universe Next Door: A Worldview Catalog by James Sire.
What’s Darwin Got to Do With It? by Robert Newman and John Wiester.
Suggested WebsitesC.S. Lewis Society Online www.apologetics.org
Discovery Institute Center for Science and Culture www.discovery.org/csc
Evolution News & Views www.evolutionnews.org
Illustra Media Online www.illustramedia.com
Leadership University (an online apologetics ministry of Campus Crusade) www.leaderu.com